If Robby Ginepri were placed in a police lineup of different athletes, one would not pick him out as a tennis player. The 22-year-old looks more like a man you would find in your local gym, a free-weights junkie who has perfected the art of the biceps curl and wears cutoff shirts to show off his goods.

In Indianapolis last week at the RCA Championships – the first leg of the U.S. Open Series – Ginepri proved that he can do more than pump iron. Unseeded in a tournament that Andy Roddick had won the last two years, Ginepri took home the second title of his professional career with a 4-6, 6-0, 3-0 victory on Sunday over a depleted Taylor Dent, who retired after winning just 10 points in the last nine games.

With temperatures reaching 118 degrees on the court, it was clear after two long games to open the match that Dent would be at a disadvantage. While Ginepri has a bit more muscle than most tennis players, Dent has, well, a little less. He also plays an aggressive, taxing brand of serve-and-volley tennis, leaving him more susceptible to oppressive heat. At the start of the third set, he slumped in his chair, trainer at his side, thinking about whether the time had come to throw in the towel. He needed smelling salts to answer the bell for the first game. Ginepri, for his part, looked unfazed by the heat, despite wearing a black shirt for most of the match.

As unlikely a final as it was, we may witness many more oddities in coming weeks on the trail to the U.S. Open. Roddick, victimized by Ginepri in the RCA quarterfinals on Friday, has withdrawn from this week’s tournament in Los Angeles – the Mercedes-Benz Cup, the second leg of the U.S. Open Series – owing to a sore right knee. Other top men are hurting, too. Australian Open champion Marat Safin underwent knee surgery two weeks ago and may begin to train again by the end of the month. And world no. 1 Roger Federer announced that he will not defend his title at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, set to begin on August 8. Federer, who now might play just one hard-court tournament leading up to the U.S. Open, cited a recurring foot injury.

The weaker field could give Ginepri, whose ranking has slipped to no. 98 in the world from a career high of 25 in early 2004, a chance to climb back from mediocrity, though it would be a shock if he streaked to more titles. His last title came in 2003 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., and after his six wins in Indianapolis this past week, he has a winning record for his career at 77-76. Ginepri has no outstanding weapon, but if he plays steady tennis – which is what he does best – he could end the summer with more wins than losses and close in on his best career ranking.

The true prize for Ginepri last week, though, was the best victory of his career: his first win against Roddick. When we say first, we mean it – Ginepri had not even beaten Roddick as a junior; in their six professional matches, he had won only one of 13 sets.

On Friday, he needed some help to do it. Down two match points, Ginepri stayed alive with two strong serves. Facing a third match point, Roddick hit a forehand passing shot an inch wide. Then came Roddick’s downfall: a second serve from Ginepri on game point that was clearly wide but not called as such by either the linesman or the chair umpire. Roddick exploded.

“That was the worst call of all time,” he shouted. On he went, jawing with the umpire and losing his concentration. After being broken easily in the next game – giving Ginepri a 6-5 lead – Roddick asked the umpire, “How do you call yourself a professional?” He was even less sportsmanlike when he mocked the linesman, slowly waving his hands in front of the man as if to test his ability to see a moving object.

Some players – John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors were classic examples – tend to improve when consumed with anger. Roddick is not one of them. He said afterward that he did not arrive in Indianapolis ready to play, but rather still frustrated by his loss to Federer in the Wimbledon final. He let a bad call get the better of him, and as bad calls go, it was not crucial. If Roddick properly had been awarded a double fault, Ginepri would have served at deuce – hardly a precarious position considering he already had erased three match points. Roddick complained as if the call happened on break point during his own serve.

It’s unclear how banged-up Roddick’s sore knee is; maybe he just needs a little rest, or some time to lobby for instant replay, which at the moment seems like it is still a season away, though there is a very slim chance it will be battle-tested by the time the U.S. Open rolls around at the end of August. Roddick also complained last week, as he has in the past, about the length of the season – January to November – and the little time it affords players for recovery. All in all, it’s the perfect time for a brief vacation for an obviously frustrated player.

Ginepri and Dent, who both plan to play in Los Angeles, certainly will not mind owning a bigger share of American tennis for a while, though this week they will have to contend with Andre Agassi. The 35-year-old is scheduled to make his first appearance since losing in the first round of the French Open, where he nearly defaulted with a sciatic nerve injury. He will replace Roddick as the top seed. Agassi has been written off a half-dozen times already in his career, and it would be just like him to return from near oblivion with a title run. As for the rest of his summer, it’s anyone’s guess how far his most recent cortisone shot can carry him.